Tag Archives: Valencia

Renault are ready to reveal Russian Vitaly Petrov as their second driver, alongside Robert Kubica, for the 2010 season.

He apparently had his seat fitting in Enstone yesterday, and signed his contract today.

The Russian is known to have around €10m in backing from sponsors such as Gazprom and the Russian government, who are keen to have their first Russian in Formula 1.

It seems, however, that there was more than sponsor backing that may have helped this deal. Gazprom, his main sponsor, is owned (50%) by the Russian government. It is understood that there was a deal between Gazprom, the Russian government, and Petrov, regarding the Renault seat. To give you an idea of how powerful Gazprom is when it comes to these negotiations, their little-known chairman from 2000 to 2008 was Dmitry Medvedev, who then became president of Russia. Why Gazprom is so interested in Petrov, I don’t know. However, it is rumoured that the Russian government and Bernie Ecclestone were (supposedly) looking for a Russian Grand Prix in the future.

But back to Petrov. He finished 2nd in the GP2 championship last year, behind Nico Hulkenberg. He may be good, but he certainly is nowhere near as good as Hulkenberg, in my opinion. Having said this, it’s good to see him given a chance. Kubica will almost certainly beat him, but that’s not the point, as it will be his first year, and it’s only an indicator of how good he will be in the future.

Also, I hear that he will be a great addition to the paddock. Unlike so many other PR robots in F1, Petrov speaks his mind and has a wicked sense of humour.

Petrov will probably be unveiled tomorrow, at Renault’s launch of their 2010 R30 car in Valencia.

The Renault R30 has been fired up for the first time, as the team looks forward to their launch on Sunday 31st January.

Pictures have been supplied by Renault, but they do not show the new car, as it will be under wraps until the Valencia test.

On its official site, the Renault team said:

“The fire-up of a new car is always a symbolic moment. Not only does it reassure the engineers that the car’s systems are in good working order, it also gives everybody a big morale boost. The sound of that V8 engine revving away was pretty sweet for everyone who played a part in getting it ready on time.”

Three F1 teams today announced the release dates for their 2010 challengers: Lotus, McLaren and Renault.

McLaren’s MP4-25 will be released on the 29th January in the UK (no specific location yet).

Renault will show off their R30 on the 31st January, the same date as BMW Sauber. Their launch will take place in Valencia, which hosts 3 days of testing the day after this launch.

Meanwhile, the new team Lotus, have announced their release date to be February 12th. They will miss the first 2 (out of 4) testing sessions, but will start to test the car at the third test, 17th February, in Jerez, Spain.

Meanwhile, Toro Rosso have confirmed there will be no launch of their car. Their STR5 will, however, appear at all the tests, starting 1st February.

Michael Schumacher has said that he is impressed by the work of the people in Mercedes. He visited the Brackley factory for 2 days this week, as part of getting to know the team before the season starts.

He had visited the team factory in December also, as part of finalising his deal to drive with them next year.

On his personal website, he wrote:

“I have been in the factory in Brackley now for two days and spent the time to get to know the engineers and the structures a bit better, and I am extremely positive surprised about how motivated everbody was. This a world champion team but it does not seem to be spoilt by success at all; it seems to be hungry for more instead!”

The trip marked the start of his serious work with the team, as they prepare for the 2010 season.

“It is important for me to be informed about everything and it was very interesting to get to understand the engineers and their structures and the way they work. I was there already around the time of the signature of the contract and learned a lot, now I have seen much more about the team.”

Schumacher was also impressed by the many German-speaking people who worked at the factory. This will surely help him adapt to his new team.

Mercedes are set to launch their car on the 1st February, in Valencia, with Nico Rosberg driving the car first. It is unclear when Schumacher will get to drive, but it will probably be the 2nd or 3rd February.